About 10 percent of all Americans have recurring headaches that are so bad that they affect their ability to lead normal lives. It is estimated that about 80% of these headaches are related to muscle tension of the muscles of the jaw. This article has been prepared by the experts at vitaldentalhouston.com to help you understand the dental causes of migraines.

The Prevalence of Headaches

The number one source of pain in the US is said to be headaches. It is estimated that over 40% of otherwise healthy people suffer some form of headaches. Headaches are not new; they have afflicted humanity for centuries. At some point in history, patients would have holes drilled in their heads to treat headaches. Thanks to modern medicine, we now know better.

Dental Stress Can Cause Recurrent Headaches

Most headaches result from muscles tension. The tension can either be due to the contraction or the strain of muscles. Tension headaches occur when muscles are held tightly for long periods. Such kind of a headache can be on either one or both sides of your head. Sometimes the headache can feel like there is a steel band wrapped around your head. The pain from dental problems usually feels like a dull, non-throbbing pain. People can usually relieve this type of pain using an aspirin, although temporarily.

Some of the signs that your dental problems may be because of dental issues are teeth grinding, pain between the eyes, a tired bite, scalp that is painful to touch, and a sore jaw upon waking up.

A Tired Bite

The muscles that are responsible for holding your head upright and controlling your jaw upright are very complex. The jaw comes against the skull over 2000 time each day. If the bite is not stable, the muscles are forced to work hard to ensure the teeth come together. The jaw muscles never have an opportunity to relax. When your jaws are being forced to overwork, it can eventually lead to serious headaches.

Muscle Imbalance

The head is delicately balanced on top of the spinal cord using a combination of various muscles. The average head of a person is about the same weight as a bowling ball. Thus, you can compare your head to balancing a baseball using rubber bands on the tip of a pencil. If just one of those rubber bands shortens, it would cause other rubber bands to shorten or lengthen in response.

The jaw and neck muscles function in the same way. All of this tension usually results from a simple imbalance in the dental bite. When you feel pain, you become tense and uptight. The result is that the condition becomes even worse.

Referred Pain

Referred pain is a type of pain that is felt in one place while originating from somewhere else. That means when a certain muscle is tense, you will not feel the pain there. Instead, it is referred to another part of the body. In most cases, the pain is referred to the head in the form of a headache.

Dental Treatment Does Help

Many people who have suspected that their headaches are caused by their improper bite have sought help. In cases where the improper bite is the cause of the pain, they usually end up receiving treatment successfully.

In most cases, treatment entails correcting your bite after a careful examination of the jaw muscles and the teeth of the patient. Besides that, physical therapy can be recommended to help with the posture in relation to the head, shoulders, and neck. Sometimes, sufferers are asked to go for relaxation training. By learning how to relax your muscles, it can help you learn how to reduce the muscle. Besides that, you may be requested to learn how to cope with stress. Stressed up people usually tend to clench up even in their sleep, which causes headaches.

Other Forms of Treatment

One of the other recommended forms of treatment is to change your diet. That means you should keep off hard foods until you get the treatment that you require. Besides that, exercising is important as it helps you to sleep better at night, thus improving muscles relaxation.

Another way of treating headaches caused by teeth misalignment is to use a mouth guard. The device is placed in the mouth when the person goes to sleep. Consequently, they cannot fully clench their jaws while sleeping. The guard also provides padding, which helps to relieve some of the tension.

Teeth replacement is also important in treating headaches. If you are missing a tooth, it will cause the muscles to make adjustments to compensate for the missing tooth. The result is that it can lead to extensive muscle tension of the jaw muscles. The only permanent way to fix such a situation is to replace the missing tooth.

Talk to an Expert

If you do not want to be stuck taking pills for the rest of your life, you should consider talking to an expert. We have many qualified professional dentist at Vital Dental who can help to fix your dental issues. Thus, your headache will no longer be a problem in your life.

Dr. Pil and his staff are amaizing! He takes time to explain every little detail and makes sure you are comfortable. Jess and Yancy are so sweet and patient. I love this practice. I recommend it 100 %read more

This is not your typical dental office- they go above and beyond for you. I'm very lucky to have found them. I needed an urgent appointment that other dentists would not even bother with but Yancy went out of her way to get me settled in and dealt with my dental insurance drama and Jessica had excellent bedside manner. Dr. Sun is nicest doctor and his work was incredible! He did not hesitate at all to get me fixed up. I will definitely be coming back for future treatments. This was the smoothest appointment I've ever had. Money was well spent! -Minaread more

Vita Dental is awesome! The young ladies at the front desk are super sweet and so friendly. (Especially, Yancy! She's absolutely the BEST!!!) The whole staff is genuinely nice including the doctor. They made me feel relaxed and actually make the visit to the dentist enjoyable. I totally recommend Vita Dental!!read more

Excellent service overall and great friendly staff, both the doctors and staff are very professional. Especially Jessica, she’s super sweet and is one of the reasons why I highly recommended this office to my friends and family. Dr. Pill was also a great doctor, he listened and took his time working on my teeth.read more

First, let me start off by saying thank you so very much for making my daughters appointment so smooth and comfortable for her.She came in having a pretty high fear, until you all were able to quickly ease her mind and make her feel safe and secure while also building her trust. Thank you Dr. Shin and your team staff, Jessica and Yancey for your professional bedside manners, as well as taking the time to address any related questions and/or concerns. I couldn’t be more happier and pleased with how everyone took their time to make sure she was not only comfortable, but also aware of what was going on in that moment and what was to be expected. I believe I have found my daughters main dentist I’ve been in search for!Thank you again for all that you do because your passion of work clearly shines through!read more

I highly recommend Vita Dental! It’s not exciting to go to the dentist, but this is the first place that makes me want to come back. The people who work there really make you feel comfortable and know what they’re doing! I spoke to Jessica and she was so sweet! If you need a dentist, this is the place!read more

So impressed! Excellent service great staff! You can tell vita dental are here to help you, they provide different type of payment plans for treatment that’s so convenient! Definitely will be returning!read more

My first time here it was a little wait time the front desk was always keeping me updated and making sure I was okay. Once I finally went to the back Jessica the assistant didn’t take long at all to do my whole x-rays and getting me ready for the doctor to see me. Dr. Pil was very good at explaining everything I needed he even took pictures of my teeth. I’m very impressed with the staff and the quality in the work. The wait time was so worth it at the end. Thank you vita staffread more

Highly recommend Dr.pil and his dental assistant Jessica! They took their time to explain everything and answered all my questions! They did an amazing job on my teeth cleaning! Jessica is the sweetest! First time here and will not be my last! Definitely will be coming back!read more

I just met the most wonderful ladies today such hard workers for this company. I had to write them a review. Yancy and Jessica came up to me today to promote the office and offer me a free exam and cleaning.God bless them.read more

I highly recommend Dr.Pil and his entire Vita Dental Spring staff for providing a professional, considerate and helpful service to our community! With Yancy, the first person you meet, is attentive, engaging and efficient with extensive knowledge of insurance coverages. Also, Jessica, the dental assistant is very friendly and efficient.Overall excellent and Dr. Phil is knowledgeable and recommends the best for his patients.read more

Had 4 appointments scheduled over a week ago. I set them up after they called me, reminding me about scheduling the next visit. I pulled the kids out of school, took off work early scrambled all over the city trying to get there on time. Not only was the dentist late, they told me the appointments I scheduled were a mistake and the three boys did not need an appointment, only me. They couldn’t tell me that BEFORE I took off work and pulled them out of school. I scheduled the appointment at least a week ago, maybe two. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! How extremely frustrating. They even gave me a courtesy call reminding me about the appointments - the ones I apparently didn’t need. Ugh.
The sad part is we were pleased with the dentists up to this point. The front office receptionist was like, “Well sorry. Shall we reschedule?”read more

I have been looking to switch over to a new dental office and it looks like I found the right one. Yancy helped me with everything over the phone before my appointment . The office is very clean and professional. I would definitely recommend this office.read more

I visited Vita Dental for the first time and Dr. Pil’s staff made to feel very comfortable. Jessica and Yancy are awesome, as well as Dr. Pil. He took the time to explain everything to me. His staff was happy to answer any questions I had. Also, the office environment was very calming to me. Vita Dental gets high marks from me and I totally recommend them.read more

My husband and I were very satisfied with the service and facilities. The staff was helpful and friendly. The dentist was patient and clearly explained the treatment plan. We highly recommend this place.read more

At first I thought it was kinda weird that I get a call from the staff to remind me my boys due for cleaning and check up. But I can honestly say I’m happy I did come visit Vita dental had a good experience.read more

Vita Dental of Spring is a walking distance from my house, went just for cleaning (because I floss and brush twice a day and did not have a single cavity for 20 years), ended up paying close to $400. I have the best dental insurance plan (PPO plan), they verified my dental insurance few minutes before the appointment, they never informed me that they are out of network and they took me straight to see the dentist who did unnecessary dental check because all I need is the cleaning, and before they do the cleaning they presented the bill to me and said "shall we continue with the cleaning?" I said since am here already go ahead, they said there will be an additional $85, I was so angry for this unprofessional and unethical dental practice which I have never seen before in any dental clinic anywhere.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND VITA DENTAL OF SPRING and will never come to their clinic again.read more

Good dentist to go to. They squeezed me in their schedule and when I arrived everything was so smooth. From checking in, filling out paperwork and them checking my insurance, to the doctor explaining and doing my cleaning! Thanks everyoneread more

Took my kids to Vita, my youngest was its first time and as soon as we walked out the door she said, “mommy we should come to the dentist more often” that is something that cannot be explained, specially considering past experiences with my oldest! Amazing office!!!!read more

I’ve got to say Dr. Son is one of the best dentist I’ve met I don’t feel no pain when getting my treatment done that’s a first!! His staff is beyond great always with an awesome attitude what else can you ask for from a dental office. I truly recommend vita dental to anyoneread more

I was a walk in patient and they saw me same day. The Dr Son was so gental his assistant jessy was very gentle as well. Karina was so helpful with my payment plans. Everyone had very great attitudes not like other offices I’m very impressed!read more